Honda Civic CVCC, Silver

The Civic went on sale in July 1972 in two-door and three-door forms, and that same year Honda announced the full details of its low-pollution CVCC engine. CVCC stands for Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion, and the design let the engine meet the American Clean Air Act standards for 1975 without a catalytic converter or unleaded fuel. The first Civic CVCC to reach the market, a four-door, followed in 1973, the year the plaque gives for this model, and by 1976 Honda had built a million Civics in the four years since launch. This three-door shows the CVCC name on its grille, on each front wing and on the tailgate, where a Hondamatic badge marks the two-speed semi-automatic gearbox.

It is finished in silver with a black interior: black seats with pleated panels, black door cards, a dashboard with a woodgrain strip across the passenger side, a three-spoke steering wheel and the Hondamatic selector on the floor. Outside are the round headlamps in chrome surrounds, a black grille with the H emblem, bumpers with black overriders front and rear, and silver steel wheels with red-centred hub caps. The car sits on an orange stitched base with an engraved plaque reading 1973 Honda Civic CVCC, Limited Edition, one of 50.